FIFA’s decision to reinstate Balogun sparks heated World Cup debate

PHOENIX – The stars have been shining, the games have been enthralling and the atmosphere has been unmatched. Despite what has been a captivating World Cup on the pitch, however, the recent debate surrounding Folarin Balogun’s red card has done much to disturb those good feelings.

The U.S. striker received his now-infamous red card in the team’s round-of-32 clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, a decision that carries an automatic one-match suspension. A few days later, FIFA ruled to suspend Balogun’s automatic suspension for a one-year probationary period under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, making Balogun eligible for the round-of- 16 match against Belgium on Monday in Seattle.

“I want to stress that it’s not a red card,” Arizona State women’s soccer coach Graham Winkworth said when asked to analyze the initial call. “But if FIFA has a rule at the beginning of the tournament before a ball is kicked that you can rescind a red card, great, rescind that red card, but you can’t change the rules of a tournament in the middle of a tournament to suit a host nation.”

FIFA’s regulations outline procedures for implementation of disciplinary measures, with Article 27 stating “the judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.”

The decision is clearly stated in FIFA’s code, but its convenient application, and the timing of that application have clouded its perception.

“This hasn’t happened in the middle of a tournament before,” Winkworth said. “There have been situations where Ronaldo or Rooney, for example, picked up cards preceding the tournament but they’ve managed not to be suspended for the first game. This is in the middle of the tournament and I’ve not seen anything like it.”

The idea of overturning red cards is not new to soccer and it is not new to the World Cup. Earlier this tournament, Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo received a red card for a reckless challenge that broke Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone’s leg, and the automatic one-match suspension was upgraded by FIFA to five games. The same rules apply in domestic leagues.

“In most soccer leagues around the world, there are automatic reviews of what the subsequent impact of a red card should be,” said ASU professor and author of the “The Great Game,” Andres Martinez. “You will routinely see that they decide that (a red card) doesn’t merit missing out on an additional match.”

Fans across the world are split on FIFA’s decision to allow Balogun to play. One camp believes the red card should not have been issued in the first place and justice was ultimately achieved. The other camp believes foul play led FIFA to reverse the decision.

“There are people that say, ‘Rules are rules and they need to be followed,’ but the issue here is, I don’t have a problem with the outcome, I have a problem with the process,” said former Canadian Premier League commissioner Mark Noonan, who was also an executive with MLS and the U.S. Soccer Federation.

“A call is appealed, an independent jury looks at the appeal, makes a decision and issues a verdict in a very timely manner. Article 27 is FIFA’s version because there’s no appeal process. FIFA has the power to do whatever they want, whenever they want. That’s being perceived, right or not, by the rest of the world that they are using the rules to favor one of the hosts and that doesn’t seem like a good process.”

The delay in FIFA’s announcement is all the more frustrating when coupled with President Donald Trump’s comments suggesting he played a role in the decision. Reports say he called FIFA president Gianni Infantino last Thursday to discuss the situation.

“All I did, I asked for a review, cause I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I didn’t tell them what to do, I can’t tell them what to do. … I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision.”

Infantino released a statement confirming that the call with Trump took place, but he insisted it had no effect on Balogun’s status.

“On this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues,” the statement read. “During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies.”

The fallout from this decision has tainted what has been an exciting World Cup altogether.

“(The opacity of the rules) are leading to a global outcry about the integrity of the game, which FIFA doesn’t want,” Noonan said. “FIFA wants to focus on the games themselves, the great players, the incredible atmospheres, and the fact that this is the story now, it’s not great for FIFA.”

It has also dampened the USMNT’s historic early performance.

“I feel terrible for the U.S. team, they didn’t ask for any of this,” Martinez said. “They started the tournament so strong and had such an appealing, likeable underdog team, which had won not just the respect and support of a lot of fans within the U.S., but even a lot of admiration outside the U.S. Now, they have this cloud that’s gonna follow anything they subsequently accomplish.”

For Balogun, who handled this whole situation with humility and pride, the magnitude of this decision will follow him for the rest of career.

“I feel bad for Balogun, the poor guy,” Winkworth said. “Firstly, he’s gone through the red card which he shouldn’t have got, and now he’s going through all this and he’s going to have to play with all of that fog. It’s going to be tainted to the point where if I’m Pochettino, I don’t know if I’m playing him.”

Balogun will start up front for Pochettino’s side against Belgium as the U.S. look to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.